1800 733 233 or 02 8836 3444

ALS can give general advice about problems affecting you

Some problems are legal, others are not. Housing, money, fines, debt, transport, family, health and funerals - there are so many problems to deal with. Our Administration officers and Field officers can help you. Contact us.

Please phone the Ombudsman on 02 9286 1000 or 1800 451 524.
Your complaint about the police might be about abusive behaviour, use of threats or harassment, failure to take appropriate action in circumstances of domestic violence, excessive or unnecessary use of force, unlawful or unreasonable arrest, bias or mistreatment by police, use of unfair or improper interrogation, failure or delay in providing legal rights, inappropriate release of confidential information, or criminal conduct.
You can also take your complaint to the commander at your local area command or to the Commissioner of Police. Police at your local area command should help you to make your complaint.

The definition of an Aboriginal person, as defined by the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, is a person who:
•is of Aboriginal descent.
•identifies as an Aboriginal person, and
•is accepted by the Aboriginal community in which he/she lives.
To prove you are Aboriginal, you may request a letter from your local Aboriginal Land Council.
When a person seeks to become a member of a LALC, the members of a LALC must be satisfied that the person is in fact Aboriginal and must make a resolution to accept the person as a member before a LALC Chief Executive Officer can enter their name on a membership roll.
When a LALC is satisfied that a person is Aboriginal and then proceeds to join the LALC they can then write a letter of confirmation for that person, confirming their Aboriginality.

Stay calm, stay cool, stay deadly. Give your name and address only. Don't make a statement - you don't have to. You have the right to remain silent. Ask the Police to ring the ALS. The lawyer at the ALS will tell you what to do next.

It is a restraining order. It is done to stop a person being violent towards you, by ordering them to stay away from you. If you have received an AVO, you must stay away from the person who obtained it.

ALS lawyers are very professional and committed to getting the best outcome possible for Aboriginal people in and outside the courtroom. Every person deserves legal representation and ALS provides that. A person has to decide if they are pleading guilty or not guilty. Whatever their plea, ALS lawyers will fight to get the person the best possible outcome. Some people choose to pay for a private law firm to represent them. It does not guarantee a better outcome. It is a matter of choice for the person in need of legal services.

Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) assists Aboriginal people in two areas of law - Criminal law and Children's Care and Protection. We can give information to people who have legal issues in other areas of law. We can also refer to people to another legal firm.

Yes they are. Our lawyers are some of the best in the business. They are professional and committed to social justice and giving everyone the right to good representation, no matter where they're from and why they need to see a lawyer. It is the right of every Australian to have legal representation. That's what we provide, proudly.

ALS represents people who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. We only provide assistance in matters which fall within Criminal law or Children's Care and Protection Law, as these are the two areas of law that we can practice in. And we only represent people if our assistance to a person will not cause 'extra' problems in the local community where the problem started. If there is a concern that this might be the case, ALS Zone Manager’s will conduct an investigation. They may conclude there is no problem for the ALS to represent a person. Or, they may conclude there is the 'potential for serious disruption' if the ALS represents that person. If the 'potential for serious disruption' has been identified, ALS will provide appropriate assistance to the person needing our help. This may include referral to another legal service provider.

Judge Paul Conlon, Wollongong District Court, said about 90 per cent of the public defenders he had worked with in Supreme Court matters were from the ALS and Legal Aid. “If you really got into that sort of trouble, facing those sorts of crimes, those lawyers from [ALS] and the public defenders, you could not get any better representation than that,” he said. ‘[ALS is] full of not only professional and experienced lawyers, but lawyers who are dedicated to what they do.”

Aboriginal Legal Service is an Aboriginal organisation and a community organisation. ALS provides free and means-tested legal services only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW and ACT. Legal Aid NSW is operated by the NSW Government. They provide means-tested legal services to the general community.

ALS is a community organisation. Our focus is to give legal representation and advice to Aboriginal people in NSW and ACT. We do talk to State, Territory and Federal Governments when matters of law and/or policy are adversely affecting Aboriginal people.